The United States Anti-Doping Agency has responded after questions were put to the organisation over why Conor McGregor has not been drug tested in 2022.
MMAfighting.com submitted a request after McGregor's name once again did not appear in USADA's most recent publication of its testing of UFC fighters for the year.
Their request came after American TV channel TSN reported that the former two-weight champion is the sole fighter on the UFC's roster not to have been tested this year.
READ MORE: Eagle-eyed fans notice the same thing in Conor McGregor training video
USADA cannot comment on any individual's participation in the UFC's program or whether someone has even left the testing pool but a short statement was issued in response.
It read: “Once UFC athletes are enrolled in the testing program, they are subject to testing - even when not competing - unless they notify the UFC of their retirement, their contract is terminated, or they are otherwise removed from the program.
“In the event of an athlete’s return to the UFC, they are required to remain in the USADA testing pool for six months before they are permitted to compete.
"Similar to World Anti-Doping Agency rules, the UFC may grant an exemption to the six-month written notice rule in exceptional circumstances or where the strict application of that rule would be manifestly unfair to the athlete, but in both cases under the UFC rules, the athlete must provide at least two negative samples before returning to competition.
"We do not comment on the testing pool status of any particular athlete.”
McGregor had actually been one of the UFC's most-tested athletes in 2021 having complied on 11 different occasions.
However, he wasn't tested across the year's final quarter as he continued to rehab his injured leg following a gruesome break in his July bout with nemesis Dustin Poirier.
But per USADA's rules, UFC fighters are still subject to the same level of testing even while sidelined with long-term injuries unless they communicate their retirement or have their contract with MMA's premier promotion ended.
At the moment, the Crumlin native is in the Dominican Republic as he films his scenes in an upcoming reboot of the 1980s movie Road House.
This reincarnation of the cult Patrick Swayse classic will star Jake Gyllenhaal but McGregor is believed to have landed a meaty enough part rather than simply a cameo as you'd usually expect from a sports star.
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